Following months of speculation regarding the future of i-D Magazine, the media outlet has now confirmed the appointment of Thom Bettridge as its new editor-in-chief and chief brand officer. In the newly created position, Bettridge has been tasked with leading all aspects of creative, editorial and brand for i-D, from both its digital and print content to “new commercial platforms”.
His appointment follows the relaunch of the i-D website last month, the operation of which came to a halt earlier this year after the brand’s former editor-in-chief, Alastair McKimm, stepped down from the helm. Shifts in management came upon the acquisition of the publication last year by Karlie Kloss-owned Bedford Media, for which the supermodel-turned-entrepreneur is the chairwoman of.
Ahead of this, its prior owner, Vice Media, had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and had later been acquired by creditors in a 350 million dollar deal. Now, however, under the direction of Kloss’ expanding media group, i-D is embarking on a new chapter, which notably requires a return to what the publication “was always known and loved for: its take on fashion, music, art, film and culture”.
Bettridge, working alongside Bedford CEO and partner Nicole Muniz, will thus build an editorial team consisting of collaborators from these respective fields, as well as a global network of creators, each to follow the new mission of expanding beyond fashion and into “all areas of culture that matter to a new generation of creative people”.
This isn’t Bettridge’s first foray into overseeing a publication. He has served in the same position for Interview, formerly HighSnobiety, before joining online retailer Ssense, where he most recently was the vice president of creative and content.
On his appointment, Kloss said in a release: “No one embodies the future of i-D more than Thom. His creative instinct and cultural fluency make him the ideal person to chart the magazine’s next chapter. I trust in Thom’s vision and know the magazine is poised to leave yet another indelible mark on the world under his leadership.”
With this, the print magazine will be returning in March 2025 and moving into a bi-annual publication, allowing room for further “print concepts and multi-platform projects”.
In his own statement, Bettridge said: “I believe that magazines are tools for turning the chaos of the present into something iconic. And perhaps no publication embodies this function better than i-D.
“Since its inception, the magazine has been an early advocate for all the cultural movements that have defined our time. The duty of my role is to seek out the new and to give it a voice, across all the platforms in which ideas are made and communicated today.”
